THIS INVENTION relates to an apparatus, methods and systems for measuring determining electrical discharge, for example, corona discharge, remotely.
Undesirable electrical discharges often occur as potential fault indicators at high voltage equipment such power lines, transformers and insulators at sub-stations. One type of electrical discharge, a corona discharge, is a phenomenon that results, for example, from the ionising of air surrounding high voltage equipment by a high electric field that forms around the equipment. Corona discharges occur for various reasons, however, in many cases this is due to defective or poorly designed high voltage electrical equipment such as high voltage insulators and bushings, power transmission lines and substations, etc. Corona discharges often undesirably result in breakdown of electrical equipment which in turn could result in power outages and production losses at factories. In addition, the presence of corona discharges, particularly large corona discharges, provides dangerous and potentially life threatening working conditions for those working with the high voltage equipment, for example, life line workers working on the equipment for maintenance, inspection, etc. For the high voltage engineer corona is a pre-cursor to an insulation problem.
It follows that it is desirable to detect and measure corona discharges at least to identify potential problems and ameliorate undesirable issues associated therewith. However, a problem exists in that the phenomenon of corona occurs at equipment of 10 kilovolts voltage and higher and out of reach which makes the phenomenon difficult to access or measure exactly and accurately. It is not possible to make an electrical connection at high voltage equipment and measure with a meter the actual corona level.
Though the above difficulties and problems have been addressed previously by conventional non-contact apparatuses and systems by optical means and devices, the present invention seeks at least to address the abovementioned difficulties and problems in a different manner.